Serbia is working hard on the fulfilment of the recommendations of the Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO), most of which have already been largely fulfilled, which is stated in the report of this body (https://www.coe.int/en/web/greco/-/serbia-has-not-implemented-any-of-the-recommendations-on-preventing-corruption-among-parliamentarians-judges-and-prosecutors-says-council-of-europe-mo).
The Ministry of Justice points out that the fight against corruption and the establishment of an independent and responsible judiciary is one of the main priorities of the Republic of Serbia.
The fulfilment of GRECO recommendations is a process in which all state bodies to which this process applies continuously participate (the National Assembly of Serbia, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance, the High Court Council, the State Prosecutorial Council, the Anti-Corruption Agency).
In the next several days, the Ministry of Justice will initiate a public debate about the first Serbian law on lobbying, whose adoption has been foreseen in the Action Plan for Chapter 23, which is one of GRECO recommendations.
A broader consultative process was initiated at the beginning of 2017 regarding amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia in the field of justice in order to strengthen the independence, efficiency and accountability of the holders of judicial functions.
The draft wording which the Ministry of Justice presented at a public debate as one of solutions envisages the selection of judges and prosecutors to be taken out of the National Assembly of Serbia, which is one of GRECO recommendations. The draft wording that will be made in accordance with the opinions provided at the public debate will be under the direct supervision of the Venice Commission, the body of the Council of Europe, same like GRECO. Therefore, the future proposal for amendments to the Constitution will be harmonized with the recommendations of the Venice Commission.
The Ministry of Justice points out that the introduction of criteria for the selection of judges and prosecutors according to results, and the continuation of the reforms of the system for the evaluation of performance results, are a necessary condition for strengthening the independence of the judiciary.
The Ministry of Justice points out that the application of the Law on the Organisation and Jurisdiction of Government Authorities in the Fight against Organized Crime, Terrorism and Corruption commenced on 1 March, which introduced new mechanisms in the fight against financial crime and corruption. Special anti-corruption divisions were formed in higher courts and prosecutor’s offices in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Kraljevo and Niš. Also, seven new criminal acts against the economy were introduced, whose application started on 1 March, which will further strengthen the legal framework in the fight against organized crime and corruption.
The Ministry of Justice expects Serbia to fully comply with all recommendations by October, when a new round of evaluation will be conducted.